Episode #66 – The Barrens Lore + Law & Order: Mankrik’s Wife Unit

Love The Barrens? Want to know everything there is to know about the place? Then Countdown To Classic has your back!

Get to know all the places and people in this huge, beloved zone as it was before the Cataclysm ravaged the area, and while it still smelled of sweet vanilla goodness.

After that, listen in on a special debut of Countdown To Classic Original Content, as Josh employs the skills of IRL Homicide Detective & WoW Fan, Riv, to investigate who really killed Mankrik’s Wife, in Law & Order: Mankrik’s Wife Unit.

I feel like you missed an opportunity with the title of this one. It could have been “Barrens Chat With Your Favorite Cat”! I’m also proud of you for coming out about your goblin fetish. I’m definitely judging, but, I’m proud.

I’m embarrassed to say that I learned a LOT in this episode despite most of my Vanilla playtime having been spent in the Barrens. I never paid attention to just how poorly the Dwarves treated the Tauren, nor did I realize that the Krauls were created by Agamaggan. The only lore I seem to have ever paid attention to was the conflict between the Orc and Night Elves, as well as the nuisance that is the Burning Blade.

This lore episode particularly resonated with me – maybe it’s because I’m currently leveling in the zone, or it’s because I spent so much time there back in Vanilla, but definitely a good job.

P.S. It’s my understanding that the Tauren draw heavily on influences from North American Natives. If you’re curious about pronunciation, for, say, Camp Taurajo, google how to say “Navajo”.

Forgive my double post but I forgot to get on my soapbox about Barrens chat. I played both Alliance and Horde during Vanilla and I spent a ton of time in lowbie zones. I have equally fond memories of leveling through Westfall and Duskwood with my younger brother as well as toiling in the Barrens for weeks on end with my friends from school. I think it’s important to remember that these fond memories we share mostly come from the socialization and the community, which should be the focal point of Classic as it’s arguably the biggest thing missing from Retail World of Warcraft. Unfortunately this means taking the bad along with the good. It would be a shame to see something like Barrens chat overly moderated, as being frustrated by the other idiots playing the game is a core part of the Vanilla experience. If you’re an old Runescape player you’ll know what I mean. The memories don’t come from having played a quality MMO – they come from the awkwardness of people selling themselves as “GFs” and that one time you got scammed into buying Bronze instead of Dragon chainmail. The Barrens allowed for similar goofy if at times offensive interactions with other low level players learning the ropes of the game. I personally think it would be a tragic loss to take that away from players new to Classic, and would certainly negatively impact the amount of pleasure I would get out of the game as a returning player.

P.S. You’re only one reading my monologues Josh, so, how can I communicate with you more directly about the show? I noticed you read a lot from MMOChampion and Reddit – do you pick those comments from existing threads, or do you make posts for your Podcast? Is this a paywall thing where you’re going to link me your Patreon? 😉

HellBop, thanks so much for these amazingly thoughtful comments. I’d love to have them posted where more people can find them too so I would invite you to join the Countdown To Classic Discord and share them there as well, that’s where you can get much more direct contact with me and the other listeners of the show on a daily basis and chat along with us. Here’s the link for you, please do look into it: